This invention relates to polymeric articles. More particularly, this invention relates to polymeric articles having improved cut-resistance.
Polymeric articles, particularly elastomeric textile articles, having improved resistance to cutting with a sharp edge have long been sought. Elastomeric textile articles in the form of protective garments, particularly gloves, with improved cut-resistance are especially desired. Cut-resistant gloves have many uses. For example, cut-resistant gloves are useful for meat processing personnel exposed to sharp knives, for metal and glass handlers who must be protected from sharp edges during the handling of materials, and for medical personnel who are exposed to scalpels and other sharp instruments.
Cut-resistant gloves are known in the art. Reference is made, for example, to U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,004,295, 4,384,449 and 4,470,251 and to EP 458,343. These references teach cut-resistant gloves which have been made from yarn containing flexible metal wire or highly oriented fibers having high modulus and high tensile strength, such as aramids, thermotropic liquid crystalline polymers, and extended chain polyethylene.
A drawback to gloves made from yarn containing flexible metal wire is hand fatigue with resultant decreased productivity and increased likelihood of injury. Moreover, with extended wear and flexing, the wire may fatigue and break, causing cuts and abrasions to the hands. In addition, the wire will act as a heat sink when a laundered glove is dried at elevated temperatures, which may reduce tensile strength of the yarn or fiber, thereby decreasing glove protection and glove life.
Therefore, cut-resistant gloves which do not use metal wire are desired.
Polymers have been mixed with particulate matter and made into fibers, but not in a way that significantly improves the cut-resistance of the fiber. For example, small amounts of particulate titanium dioxide have been used in polyester fiber as a delustrant. Also used in polyester fibers are small amounts of colloidal silicon dioxide, which is used to improve gloss. Magnetic materials have been incorporated into fibers to yield magnetic fibers. Examples include: cobalt/rare earth element intermetallics in thermoplastic fibers, as in published Japanese Patent Application No. 551098909 (1980); cobalt/rare earth element intermetallics or strontium ferrite in core-sheath fibers, described in published Japanese Patent Application No. 3-130413 (1991); and magnetic materials in thermoplastic polymers, described in Polish Patent No. 251,452 and also in K. Turek et al., J. Magn. Magn. Mater (1990), 83 (1-3), pp. 279-280.
Various kinds of gloves have been made in which metal has been included in the fabrication of the glove to impart protective qualities to the glove. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,328,105 and 3,185,751 teach that a flexible, X-ray shield glove may be made by treating sheets of a suitable porous material with a finely divided, heavy metal which may be lead, barium, bismuth or tungsten, or may be made from a latex or dispersion containing heavy metal particles. U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,161 discloses gloves which are resistant to corrosive liquids wherein the gloves have been made with a metal film layer. However, the gloves disclosed in the aforementioned references also do not appear to have significantly improved cut-resistance.
Cut-resistant textile articles are also disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,200,263; 5,119,512; 5,146,628; and 5,224,363.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,200,263 teaches a puncture- and cut-resistant composite material and articles, e.g., gloves, made therefrom, wherein the composite material is composed of at least one elastomer layer containing a plurality of platelets oriented substantially parallel to the plane of the elastomeric layer, each of the platelets being a small, thin element substantially impervious to normally encountered puncturing and/or cutting by sharp instruments.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,119,512 discloses cut-resistant yarn and fabrics and gloves made therefrom. The reference further teaches a cut-resistant article composed of a cut-resistant jacket surrounding a less cut-resistant member. The cut-resistant jacket contains a fabric made from a yarn containing at least one high strength, longitudinal strand wrapped with a fiber. The less cut-resistant member is a rope, webbing, strap, hose or inflatable structure. The reference further teaches a highly cut-resistant composite yarn composed of at least two fibrous materials, wherein at least one fibrous material is cut-resistant and at least one fibrous material has a high level of hardness.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,363 discloses cut-resistant protective garments, e.g., gloves, which are formed from high strength composite strands. The composite strands contain a cut-resistant core material coated with a fluid impervious material. The cut-resistant core material may be Kevlar, aramid strands, stainless steel strands, or a combination of Kevlar and stainless steel strands. The fluid impervious coating may be polyurethane or vinyl.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,146,628 discloses protective gloves coated with a polyurethane material. The polyurethane coating is abrasion resistant, cut-resistant, flexible and soft and provides the glove with slip-resistant and gripping properties.
Puncture-resistant textile articles are also known in the art. Reference is made, e.g., to U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,363,930 and 5,087,499.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,363,930 teaches a thin elastomeric sheet material and protective clothing, e.g., gloves, made therefrom. The elastomeric sheet material has enhanced puncture-resistance and is prepared by embedding thin plate-like non-elastomeric particles in an elastomeric matrix. The preferred non-elastomeric particles have a hardness on the Mohs scale of at least 5 and include metals, ceramics and crystalline minerals.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,087,499 discloses puncture-resistant and medicinal treatment garments, e.g., gloves, formed from fibers such as Kevlar.RTM. or Spectra.RTM.. The fibers may be coated with an abrasive material such as, e.g., a mixture of ceramic or metallic particles and a polymeric resin.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,051,301 discloses composites and textile articles made therefrom, wherein the composites have improved toughness and contain a ceramic matrix and a plurality of layers of boron nitride-coated fibrous material. The ceramic matrix may be used in combination with an organic binding material.
Copending, commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/752,297, filed Nov. 19, 1996, discloses the manufacture of cut-resistant garments such as gloves from cut-resistant fibers.
Although cut-resistant gloves are known in the art, it is continually desirable to increase the cut-resistance of such gloves.
In addition, it would be desirable to provide gloves with improved flexibility and comfort as well as increased cut-resistance. It would further be desirable to provide cut-resistant gloves which retain their properties when routinely laundered.
Accordingly, a primary object of this invention is to provide polymeric articles with improved cut-resistance.
A further object of this invention is to provide polymeric textile articles, such as protective garments, with improved cut-resistance.
Another object of this invention is to provide gloves having improved cut-resistance.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide gloves having improved cut-resistance and improved flexibility, are more comfortable and which retain their properties when routinely laundered.
A further object of this invention is to provide a method of improving the cut-resistance of a cut-resistant polymeric product.
Another object of this invention is to provide a method of improving the cut-resistance of a cut-resistant polymeric textile product such as a protective garment.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a method of improving the cut-resistance of cut-resistant gloves.
These and other objects which are achieved according to the present invention can be discerned from the following description.